


A Handprint On My Heart

by prettybirdy979



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Families of Choice, Fluff, Gen, This Fic May Cause Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-13
Updated: 2015-07-13
Packaged: 2018-04-09 04:06:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4333224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettybirdy979/pseuds/prettybirdy979
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matt's never known a mother; it was always just him and his Dad. But then he meets Mrs Nelson...</p>
<p>(Or five times Anna Nelson was like a mother to Matt and the first time they both acknowledged it)</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Handprint On My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt fill for [this prompt](http://daredevilkink.dreamwidth.org/2760.html?thread=4494536#cmt4494536) on the kinkmeme.
> 
> I'm going to (hopefully) start moving more of these over soon. There's quite a few fills to move...

'Yo, dude, your twelve o'clock.'

Blinking as he emerges from the studying haze he's been in, Matt reaches out without thinking. Right in front of him is a phone; Foggy's phone from the feel of it. Confused he picks it up.

_'Matt Murdock?'_  A woman says and it takes Matt a moment to realise that Foggy has passed over a call on his phone for some reason.

'Hello?' He lifts the phone to his ear carefully. 'This is Matt.'

_'Matt! I've been hearing a lot about you from Foggy. It's nice to have a voice to go with the name.'_

Matt's really confused right now. 'Oh. Umm. That's good? Sorry, who is this?'

_'Oh, God I'm so sorry! I'm Anna Nelson, Fra-Foggy's mother.'_

Having her identity isn't helping Matt's confusion. He can hear Foggy's muffled laughter on the other side of the room and he wishes he could throw something at his roommate (his _friend_ ). 'Nice to meet you?'

_'It's nice to meet you too. I just wanted to know if you have any allergies. Foggy said no, but I thought it best to double check.'_

Matt blinks, now beyond completely confused. 'Uh, there's no food I'm deathly allergic to?'

_'And foods you're mildly allergic to?'_  Her voice has a certain note to it, a slightly reproving tone.

He finds himself caving without even meaning to. 'Strawberries?'

_'And?'_  The tone is still there, and it strikes something in Matt.

How is she doing this? 'And some spices. Not allergic but I have some... issues.'

_'Foggy did mention that.'_  Matt glares in the direction of his laughing friend. While he's not a hundred percent sure he's looking right at Foggy, his friend suddenly stops muffling his laughter so he's at least seen the glare. _'I just wanted to make sure. I'll see you in a week!'_

She hangs up before Matt can reply and he's left blinking, phone still held to his ear.

'Your Mom will see me in a week?'

Foggy's laughter dies down. 'Yeah? You are coming to Thanksgiving with me, right? I mean, you said last week you weren't doing anything but studying and man, that's just sad. Like I said then, no one should study over Thanksgiving.' He hums. 'I just frowned. I'm sure I asked you to come?'

He...he might have. Matt hadn't had a lot of sleep last week so it's a bit of a blur. 'I...don't recall?'

'Well you don't have to come,' Matt goes to say he doesn't want to intrude but Foggy keeps speaking, 'you'll just have to call Mom to tell her why. I'm not brave enough.'

That's practically blackmail. Matt frowns. 'I won't be intruding?'

He senses the movement of air as Foggy shakes his head. 'I just shook my head. Matt, I think I might not be welcome if I came without you. You won't be intruding.'

Matt sighs, and gives in.

************

'Matt!'

Anna approaches Matt loudly as he finishes hanging up his coat and cane. After three holidays (and three weeks of summer) spent at the Nelson's, he's pretty much got the layout of the house memorised. The fact they never move their furniture also helps.

She puts a hand on his shoulder so he knows she's there, then pulls him into a gentle hug when he doesn't flinch or move back.

Matt returns it without hesitation. It's almost natural by now. 'Anna, nice to see you.'

He smirks and she pulls out of the hug with a light tap to his shoulder. 'You're incorrigible.' Behind him, Foggy laughs and Matt strikes back with his elbow, getting his friend lightly in the gut. Foggy pokes him back, nowhere near as gently, in the centre of his back.

'You two stop that right now.'   

Matt freezes, sure Anna turned her back to them the moment she pulled out of the hug.

'I wish I knew how you did that Mom,' Foggy whines.

'I know you two,' Anna says and the movement of air Matt senses as she turns to face them confirms that yes, she'd had her back to them. 'Now come on Matt. I know you haven’t had lunch yet. I think we've that mayonnaise you like; how's chicken on your sandwich?'

She moves into the kitchen then and Matt is left standing in the hallway blinking. 'How?'

Foggy pats his shoulder. 'Mothers. I swear there's magic that comes with the job.'

'Huh.'

************

_'Anna, Anna, Anna.'_  Matt's phone cries and he reaches for it, trying to ignore how his hand is shaking.

'Anna?' He answers shakily, adrenaline still flooding his body.

_'Matt!'_  The panic in her voice is overwhelming and Matt suddenly feels guilty. _'Thank God, finally! I saw what happened on the news! Aliens! In New York!'_

'It's certainly new, even for this city,' Matt jokes then frowns. 'Did you want Foggy? I know he tried to call... Actually he said he had, did he lie?'

_'Oh no, he did. But I'm not calling about Foggy!'_  She's angry and Matt frowns again as he tries to figure out why. _'I wanted to hear your voice... To hear that you were alright too.'_

She wanted to make sure Matt was alright? For the first time since things raining down from the sky forced Matt and Foggy to take cover in the basement of Landman and Zack with the rest of their terrified coworkers, Matt feels warm.

'I'm fine. We're fine.'

_'Good._  The relief in her voice is almost a solid presence. _'W_ _here are you now?'_

'One of the relief stations. They're holding us overnight, then we'll be allowed out of the city.' Matt frowns. 'No one is allowed back into the 'danger zone' for at least another week.'

_'You're coming here.'_   There's no room for argument in her voice and Matt is surprised to realise he doesn't want to argue.

'As soon as we can.'

************

Matt runs his hands over the package he's received, delighting in the feel of the familiar paper. He can feel his address in Anna's handwriting on top, done with enough force that he's sure he would be able to trace the letters without his senses.

But she's also taken care to label the package in braille as well, using the braille labeller that seemed to appear in her house sometime between Matt's first and second visit. Matt traces his name in braille, and smiles.

Then he opens the package, already able to smell the wool and chocolate.

Inside the box, on top of a box of Matt's favourite chocolates - he can smell the fine chocolate and caramel - is a piece of paper. Matt isn't surprised to find it's in braille.

 

_Matt,_

_I know I'll be seeing you for Christmas, but Foggy mentioned you had an accident of sorts and he won't tell me anything else so I'm sending these in hope they help you get better quicker. Please call more._

_Anna_

 

He sighs, the guilt warring with delight in his chest and sets the note and chocolates aside. Matt then reaches for the woolen item he knows is all that's left in the box.

It's a jumper, definitely handmade. Matt has a dozen scarves from both Anna and Edward (Foggy's parents are both knitters, with Edward probably being the better one of the pair) and he knows the feel of their work. This was definitely done by Anna; her stitches are never as tight.

Matt runs his fingers over the jumper, smile growing as he feels the soft wool. He'll have to ask Foggy what colour it is-

Suddenly his hand freezes as it moves towards the centre of the jumper and the texture of the wool changes. Quickly, Matt lays the jumper flat and runs his hands all over it, feeling for the different textures. He finds the edge of the rougher wool, and traces it.

It's an M.

An M he can _feel_.

He chokes on a tear filled laugh and starts to fish for his phone. He has a call to make.

************

Christmas at the Nelson's is always a form of organised chaos, that Matt somehow ends up in the middle of. He has many jobs, ranging from making snowballs for the massive family snowball fight that goes from immediate families versus immediate families to every person for themselves; to helping as official cookie taste tester; or Matt's favourite job in which he passes out the presents, guessing which present is for whom and getting a cookie for every correct guess.

He usually gets a dozen cookies. It's a good job.

'Foggy?' He calls, passing over a present without having it double checked.

'Yes.' Foggy takes it and Matt can almost feel his suspicious glance. 'How did you know?' There's something in his voice, a note probably related to Matt's abilities.

'I wrapped it.' Matt smirks and Foggy laughs.

'I believe that might be cheating.' Anna has a laugh in her voice though so Matt knows she's not annoyed. 'I don't think that deserves a cookie.'

'Aww, but Mom!' Matt jokes and freezes when he realises what he's said.

But Anna doesn't seem to notice. 'None of your lip son!' she calls as she passes over a cookie and Edward passes Matt the next present. It's like Matt didn't say anything wrong.

He's somehow both relieved and hurt.

************

Later that day, Matt is sitting by the fire alone as Foggy helps Edward in the kitchen and Anna and Candace (Foggy's younger sister) farewell the last of the relatives not staying the night. He sips at his hot chocolate and tries to figure out why he was hurt earlier, when his slip went unnoticed.

Because it was a slip. He didn't mean to give voice to the thought that's been niggling at him for years now, the feeling that he's not bothered to examine. He doesn't remember his mother and Dad rarely mentioned her, beyond giving Matt a name. She's a non-entity in Matt's life.

Anna isn't. And sometimes he wishes... prays, that she could be his Mom.

'Matt?' Anna calls, her footsteps soft as she pads into the living room. 'You still awake there?'

He hums in reply, trying to send the last of his thoughts away.

'You okay?' she asks as she takes a seat on the floor beside him.

'Just thinking.' He shrugs. There's a moment of silence before he hears the flurry of movement as she reaches over to the couch. Then she passes him a blanket and they work together to carefully position it over both their legs.

It's cozy.

Silence returns to the room for another long moment before Anna speaks again. 'You froze earlier,' she observes and Matt finds himself freezing again, 'when you called me Mom. Did you think I would be offended?'

'I didn't know what you would think.'

She places a cold hand on Matt's cheek and he finds himself leaning into it, despite its coldness. 'I wasn't offended. It could never have been offensive to be called Mom by you.' She shuffles closer. 'You are such an amazing young man Matt, and I have no idea how your mother left you. How she could ha-' Her hand drops and Matt can smell her tears. 'I would be honoured to be your mother and there's nothing that can change that you are as much my boy now as Foggy is. Unless... unless you don't want me, which is fine.'

But Matt knows what he wants. 'I... I do. Thank... thank you... Mom. Mom. Thank you Mom.'

Anna chokes on a tear and pulls Matt into a hug.

No.

Mom chokes on a tear and pulls Matt into a hug.


End file.
